Toy motor-pump unit



May 14, 1957 H. F. KLAUSS TOY MOTOR-PUMP UNIT Filed March 30. 1954 mmvron Howard F. K/auss BY wfimg/md United States Patent TOY MGTGR-PUMP UNIT Howard F. Kiauss, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application March 30, 1954, Serial No. 419,813

1 Claim. Ii. 103-47) My invention relates to miniature electrically driven pumps, particularly designed for hydraulic display devices and toys. More especially, my invention consists in certain new and useful improvements in a miniature motor-pump unit. Economy in manufacture, simplicity in construction, and dependability in service comprise the more important objects of the invention.

The invention will be understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view of a motor-pump unit of the invention in side elevation, with a part of the body of the pump shown in vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a view of the unit in end elevation; and

Fig. 3 is a view of the unit in horizontal section, as seen on the plane llIilI of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the motor-pump unit in service is adapted to stand in a shallow pool of water. The pump of the unit comprises a body 11 preferably formed of a plastic material, such as a block of cellulose acetate, which may be readily machined to required form. Alternatively, the pump body may be fashioned in an injection molding machine of one of the known plastic molding compounds. The pump body includes an impeller chamber 12 having an impeller 13 fixed on a vertical shaft 14. An inlet 15 for liquid opens centrally through a cover-plate 21 secured to the pump body and forming the bottom wall of the impeller chamber 12, while an outlet 16 opens laterally from such chamber. The body 11 of the pump, it will be noted, extends laterally outward from the chamber 12 in a general horizontal plane, whereby the body of the pump is adapted to provide a steady base upon which the motor-pump unit may stand in a shallow pool of water, without the need of anchors or other devices to hold the unit in place during operation.

Above the body of the pump an electric motor is integrally mounted, such motor comprising an armature or stator 17, having a flat laminated body of armature iron, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, that extends parallel to the horizontal body 11 of the pump. The armature or stator is recessed in the usual way to receive a rotor 18 that is united to the rotary shaft 14 of the pump impeller 13. As shown, the body of the stator comprises a flat assembly of armature sheet iron extending in a horizontal plane that parallels the body 11 of the pump. An induction coil 19, Wrapped around the body of the armature, is energized by circuit wires 20 leading to a suitable source of electric current. When the coil 19 is energized the motor operates to drive the pump impeller 13, whereby water is drawn through inlet 15 from the pool of liquid, in which the unit stands, and is expelled through outlet 16.

The motor is integrated to the pump body by means of two pedestals 22. The pedestals 22 may comprise tubes of plastic material standing vertically between the horizontally extended stator 17 and the horizontally extended pump body 11, and through each tube a screw 23, passing upwardly through the body 11 of the pump, extends astraddle the coil 19 into threaded engagement with the stator 17 of the electric motor. One pedestal 22 is located on each side of the armature coil 19 (Fig. 2), and, as appears in Fig. 1, the stator 17 extends laterally from the pedestals and forms a cantilever support for the rotor 18 of the motor and said pump impeller. A very rigid and effective integration of the motor and pump is thus obtained. The heads 24 of the screws 23 provide feet upon which the motor-pump unit may stand, and a third foot is provided by the head 25 of a dummy screw secured in the pump body. Thus, an inexpensive but extremely etficient standing motor-pump unit is provided.

The application for these Letters Patent comprises a restriction of my application Serial No. 257,861, filed No vember 23, 1951, now abandoned.

Within the terms of the appended claims many other variations and modifications of the structure described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

A motor-pump unit adapted to stand, self-sustained, in a shallow pool of liquid, said unit comprising a pump housing including an impeller chamber having an inlet and outlet, an impeller in said chamber, the body of said housing being extended from said chamber in a general horizontal plane to provide a stand for the support of said motor-pump unit, an electric motor arranged above said pump housing, said motor comprising a stator and a rotor, said stator having a fiat laminated armature iron body extending above and substantially parallel to said housing, an electric energizing coil wound on the stator body adjacent to one side thereof, two pedestals straddling said coil and rigidly uniting the stator body to said housing, the body of said stator extending laterally from said coil and from the tops of said pedestals and providing a cantilever support for said rotor, and a shaft extending downwardly from said rotor to the pump impeller in said chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 829,017 Jordan Aug. 21, 1906 1,495,827 Warren May 27, 1924 2,205,747 Klauss June 25, 1940 2,228,906 Bowen Ian. 14, 1941 2,326,360 Ingersoll Aug. 10, 1943 2,459,312 Essick Jan. 18, 1949 2,684,033 Montgomery July 20, 1954 2,721,677 Meredew et al. Oct. 25, 1955 

